Speaking with Debra Markowitz, director of Nassau’s film office

By: Claude Solnik June 25, 2009Comments Off on Speaking with Debra Markowitz, director of Nassau’s film office

Although you may read about Hollywood movies shooting on Long Island, Debra Markowitz, director of the Nassau County Film Office, tends to know about them long before they make headlines. Markowitz helps lure productions to Long Island, and she talked with LIBN about how our area has become a hot property in the entertainment industry.

Is there any nickname for Long Island in terms of the movie industry?

You can call it Hollywood East. They were calling it New York’s back lot.

There was a lot of coverage of “Salt” with Angelina Jolie and Leiv Schreiber shooting on Long Island. How did that movie end up here?

The production company contacted us looking for studio space in Nassau County. They found the ideal location at Grumman in Bethpage. The problem is, it wasn’t set up for filming at that point.

Did the owner modify the space?

They had to turn the building into a studio. They had to put up grids, so they could build a set. They had to bring water into the facility for fire safety. There were a lot of steps they had to take. They started building at the end of January and did that for several months and Columbia (Pictures) started shooting in March.
How much filming is going on in Nassau lately?

Nassau County’s been particularly busy. In production days in New York, Nassau is second only to the city itself. I don’t have the numbers for 2009 so far. I can tell you we had 583 production days in 2008, a mixture of feature films, television series, commercials, videos, fashion shoots and industrial videos. That’s 6 percent above the previous year, which had 550 days.

How has the economy affected filming on Long Island?

We noticed we started getting only really big jobs. We used to get a lot of big jobs, commercials. All of a sudden with the economy, commercials were nowhere to be found.

What economic benefit does filming bring?

The indirect economic impact in 2008 came to $67.75 million, according to a formula from the New York State Governor’s Office of Motion Picture and Television Development. It’s people eating, paying location fees, staying at hotels, going to Home Depot because they have to build something, services to clean up.
What are some other movies or TV shows that have been shooting in Nassau?

“As the World Turns” was just out here at the Malverne train station. We also had a movie called “Extra Man” with Kevin Klein at the de Seversky Conference Center in Old Westbury. “Solitary Man” with Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito, Susan Sarandon, Jenna Fisher and Marie Louise Parker shot out here at Rallye BMW in Westbury. The television show “Kings” with Ian McShane was out here from March 2008 until January 2009 at the Sands Point Preserve and private homes. They spent a lot of money here.

Does Nassau compete with Suffolk?

They probably complement. We have things they don’t have. They have things we may not have. It’s farther to get out there, but if you’re staying for a period of time, it’s not that big a deal.

Is this industry seasonal?

Our winters used to get a little slower. They don’t anymore. We had one slow week last year. It’s been busy throughout.
What would the county not offer do help someone film here?

There are some things we’re never going to do. We’re not closing a main street for the entire day. There are areas we can close like the end of the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway. Sometimes that’s enough to nail a shot they need. Crash a car. Do something strange they can’t do on the regular parkway.

Can you tell me about the Long Island International Film Expo you’re helping organize?

We’re showing 170 short and feature-length independent films from around the world July 9 to 19 at the Bellmore movie theater. We have all kinds of parties and panels.

Do you know anything coming to Long Island?

We’re working on a lot of things. I can’t tell you exactly what’s coming in the future. The last thing a company wants is to have people knocking on the door. They come in here, they want to shoot. Afterwards, they don’t care what you say.